Thai Pork & Peanut Red Curry

I had some sliced pork for stir-fry in the freezer that I wanted to use up, so I googled a pork Thai curry and found this recipe from BBC Food. It was good; the only change I made was to include some fish sauce to amp up the savory flavor. I also added a dried kaffir lime leaf and a lemongrass stalk, but it's not necessary. I use Thai Kitchen red curry paste currently, and I was afraid 4 Tbs would be too much, so I used 2. I couldn't taste any spice at all, so I added an additional tablespoon. I think start with 2 Tbs, and add to taste (taste after the meat is cooked all the way through, of course). The recipe called for baby corn, but I couldn't find any at the store, so I subbed baby zucchini instead.

Thai Pork & Peanut Red Curry

adapted from BBC Good Food

1 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil
bunch spring onions, sliced (I forgot these at the store, so omitted)
small bunch coriander (cilantro), stalks finely chopped, leaves saved for later
400g pork tenderloin, sliced (I used sliced stir-fry pork)
2-4 tbsp Thai red curry paste
4 tbsp peanut butter (I used smooth)
1 tbsp soft brown sugar OR coconut sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce

1 teaspoon fish sauce
400ml can coconut milk
3 baby zucchini, sliced
1 tbsp lime juice
steamed jasmine rice, to serve

1.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan or flameproof casserole. Add the spring onions and coriander (cilantro) stalks and cook for 1 min. Add the pork slices and cook for 5 mins until starting to brown. Stir in the curry paste and peanut butter. (For curry paste- start with 2 tablespoons. Can add more later, in step 2.) After 30 secs, add the sugar, soy and coconut milk, plus ½ can of water (I used less water than that, but ended up adding more later. Use it if you want to). Mix well, put a lid on and leave to simmer for 15 mins over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.

2.  Remove the lid, add the baby zucchini and increase the heat. Simmer for 3 mins until the zucchini is cooked and the sauce has thickened a little. Stir in the lime juice and check the seasoning. At this point, add more red curry paste if you want more spice/flavor. Can also increase the sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice. Serve with chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves and rice.

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